Know Your LotRO Lore: The Seven for Dwarves

When the Seven Rings were distributed among the Dwarves, it is not clear whether there was intended to be one for each of the seven nations, or if the rings actually aided in their creation. It is said by Gandalf though that the seven hoards of the Dwarves were each created by a single golden ring.

Unlike the mortals, the Dwarves were not negatively affected by the rings directly. The rings could not turn them invisible, turn them into wraiths, dominate their will or extend their lives in any way. This was due to the essential traits of Dwarves, which prevented curses of these sorts. While this became a problem for Sauron at first, he soon devised a way to dominate them through the Dwarves' biggest weakness: hoarded treasure.

The Dwarves kings who adorned the Seven Rings wore them proudly, knowing that Sauron's power was meaningless to them. Yet it was when these rings were lost from their owners, that the real troubles began.

Four of the original seven had been consumed by dragons, while one was thought to be lost in Moria when Thror was killed by the Orc chieftain Azog. If you read last week's Know Your LotRO Lore, you'd know this story, as well as how Balin eventually planned to return to Moria. The remaining two rings were then recaptured by Sauron, as was the one thought to be with Thror in Moria. It turns out Thror gave his ring to his son Thrain II for safekeeping before entering Moria. Thrain II was soon captured and tortured by Sauron, relinquishing ownership of the third remaining Dwarven Ring back to Sauron. It is said that these rings remained with Sauron until his ultimate defeat and lie in the rubble of Barad-dûr.